The Young Engineers in Colorado eBook

“Shall I pull the trigger, Black?” asked
the man who held the weapon to Reade’s head.

“Yes; if he doesn’t soon come to his senses,”
snarled Black.

“I’ve already told you,” persisted
Tom, “that I couldn’t give you the proper
signature, even if I wanted to—–­which
I don’t.”

“You may be glad to talk before we’re
through with you tonight,” threatened Black.
“The time for trifling is past. Either
give us that signature or else prepare to take the
consequences. For the last time, are you going
to answer my question?”

“I’ve told you the truth,” Reade
insisted. “If you won’t believe
me, then there is nothing more to be said.”

“You lie, if you insist that you don’t
know the signatures for tonight!” cried Black
savagely.

“All right, then,” sighed Tom. “I
can’t tell you what I don’t know.”

From off in the distance came the shrill too-oo-oot!
of a locomotive. Tom Reade heard, and, despite
his fears for his safety, an exclamation of joy escaped
him.

“Oh, you needn’t build any false hopes,”
sneered Black. “That whistle doesn’t
come from the through train. It’s one of
the locomotives that the S.B. & L. had delivered over
the D.V. & S., which makes a junction with your road
at Lineville. A locomotive or a train at the
Lineville end won’t help your crowd any.
That isn’t the through train required by the
charter. The S.B. & L. loses the game, just
the same.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Tom argued.
“The S.B. & L. road was finished within charter
time. No railroad can get a train through if
the opposition sends out men to dynamite the tracks.”

“Humph!” jeered Black maliciously.
“That dynamited roadbed won’t save your
crowd. The opposition can make it plain enough
that your crowd dynamited its own roadbed through
a well-founded fear that the tracks clear through
weren’t strong enough to stand the passing of
a train. Don’t be afraid, Reader the enemies
of your road will know how to explain the dynamiting
this side of Brewster’s.”

Too-oo-oot! sounded a locomotive whistle again.
One of the men in the thicket threw himself to the
ground, pressing his ear to the earth.

“There’s a train, or a locomotive, at
least, coming this way from Lineville, boss,”
reported the fellow.

“A train?” gasped Black. Then his
face cleared. “Oh, well, even if it’s
a fully equipped wrecking train, it can’t get
the road mended in time to bring the through train
in before midnight, as the charter demands.”

Now the train from Lineville came closer, and the
whirr of its approach was audible along the steel
rails. The engine’s bell was clanging
steadily, too, after the manner of the engines of
“specials.”

’Gene Black crowded to the outer edge of the
thicket, peering through intently. The bright
headlight of an approaching locomotive soon penetrated
this part of the forest. Then the train rolled
swiftly by.